Palestinian Abbas ‘still seeks’ Israel peace talks

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has said he is still ready to extend peace talks with Israel, despite a recent breakdown in the process, the BBC reports.

But he said Israel must meet several key demands, including freeing Palestinian prisoners and halting construction on Palestinian land.

Israel this week suspended the talks, demanding the annulment of a unity deal between rival Palestinian factions.

Mr. Abbas’ Fatah party and Hamas aim to form a unity government within weeks.

Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip, rejects Israel’s right to exist and it is designated a terrorist group by Israel, the United States, European Union and other countries.

Addressing a meeting of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) in the West Bank town of Ramallah, Mr. Abbas said: “How can we restart the talks? There’s no obstacle to us restarting the talks, but the 30 prisoners need to be released.”

He was referring to a final group of Palestinian inmates whose planned release Israel cancelled in March, accusing the Palestinians of reneging on a peace talks pledge not to seek further international recognition.

Mr. Abbas also stressed that the Palestinians and Israel must agree on the borders of the future state of Palestine.

“On the table we will present our map; for three months we’ll discuss our map. In that period, until the map is agreed upon, all settlement activity must cease completely,” he added.